May 17, 2015

Welcome to Mrs. J's Journeys!  Four years ago, I returned to the classroom to teach full time, and it has truly been a journey.  With 19 years experience teaching junior high history, language arts, and religion already in my wheelhouse, I wanted to approach my return to teaching with a new enthusiastic approach.  A few years before, my dad completed a scale model of the Confederate ship The Alabama, and it is the centerpiece of my classroom decorations.  I needed more!

So, I decided to go with a nautical theme, with an emphasis on lighthouses, and the journey began.  My room was decorated, and the enthusiasm seeped into the hallway, leading to decorating competitions with my friend across the hall,  The fifth/sixth grade teacher added model airplanes to her decor, and the competition heated up! Luckily we had a very supportive principal!

Classroom decorations became Christmas presents from my students and my collection grew!  Lighthouse histories and naval histories started to be extras within my curriculum, and the students really seemed to enjoy it.

The last four years have seen a lot of change, and the future promises more.  I would like to share my experiences, successes, and even failures as my students and I journey into a very new educational world as technology becomes more than a fact of life and sitting silently in a classroom all day is a thing of the past.

I welcome constructive feedback and shared ideas and insights from all interested parties.  I am still exploring how to best use this blog, but hope to post pictures in the immediate future, as well as field trip journeys and project outlines.

Mrs. J.